MPX-A Star is Born 9-22-2012

Well, I’m in Day 5 of no caffeine, and I warned everyone about it. So if Old Cranky White Man comes out here, I apologize.

Dark match: Dax Daring vs. Steven Kirby

I was a little confused at first. Who was I supposed to go for? When I say “A Star is Born” I think that was the theme throughout the night.  However, mostly I refer to Daring. He looked great in this match. He had a certain methodical intricacy to his moves. The first time I saw him, he served as a backdrop to Kanoa. The other time I saw him I was ring announcer and had no idea of what was going on in the ring. Tonight was his chance to shine, and boy did he. Later on in the night, he had the whole crowd chanting he was awesome.

Winner: Kirby

I wrote down this is the greatest dark match I’ve ever seen. After the match, Steven grabbed the mic and had the people give it up for Dax. Then Kenny Steele came in the ring and attacked Dax. Before you knew it, Kanoa & Mike Foxx were in there attacking Kirby. And as if Liam Neeson had said it himself, they released the Murdoch. Kyle Valo came out and announced there was going to be a 6-man.

First match: Zero the Antihero vs. Andy Dalton

Zero is crazy over. He’s never won a match. He’s our underdog. We want to see him win but never do. He cut a promo on his video-gaming. I had no idea what he was talking about. Andy Dalton is on fire here. The previous show, he had what I’m calling the match of the year so far. And tonight he was on fire. Zero & Dalton clicked. I saw a lot from Dalton tonight. As a heel, he kept the crowd in it. I like it when a heel encourages the crowd to keep cheering for their favorite.

Winner: Dalton

We were treated with an appearance from Franco D’Angelo. I feel bad for him because the crowd didn’t know who he was. I’ve followed his story of the awful car wreck and then his miraculous recovery. The fact the man was breathing, much less standing in the ring, much less planning a return to the ring, was great. What I give him credit for is changing the flow of his promo to where the crowd was behind him. And if I may take a moment, welcome back, Mr. D’Angelo.

Second match: Jordynne Grace vs. Claudia

Claudia is insane over with the crowd. This was my first time to see Grace as a heel. My previous match I’d kinda seen her in was a 3-way match where she was kind of the tweener. I like her work. The match was pretty decent. The crowd was in it the whole time, engaged. Just like Athena (who was in the crowd) is becoming the new “It girl” on the national stage, I think Grace is becoming a new “It girl” in Texas. Everything clicked well and the crowd stayed in it.

Winner: Claudia

MPX needs more women’s wrestling, and they have a perfect person to build their division around who is always in the crowd. There are some great name in Texas to bring in: Barbi Hayden, Miss Diss Lexia,   Rachel Summerlyn, Reyna Pink, Starr Venus (who is one of the legit nicest people I’ve ever met in wrestling) & Angel Blue. And there are some great names on a national stage I’d love to see come in: Jessicka Havoc, Allysin Kay, Mia Yim, Veda Scott, Marti Belle.

Third match: The Modern Movement vs. Regrub & Matt Andrews w/The Following

This was another match where everything seemed to be firing on all cylinders. Regrub was pretty good with the live crowd. And Andrews is so committed to his character. Regrub & Andrews wrestled good, smart tag team wrestling. And then there was TMM. They are such a good tag team. And I can’t help but feel that when I watch those two wrestle, that I am watching something on the verge of something special. This was such an emotional match, I kept finding myself caught up in the emotion. After 16 years of watching wrestling, not a lot catches me up in my emotions. The match ended when Carrion Arcane walked out and grabbed Kate and took her to the back. Greg of TMM was distracted and Choice got the pin.

Winner: Choice & Regrub

After the intermission, Arcane and Kyle Valo walked out with Kate being led in chains. Since Kate had not pre-approved her outfit, she had a new outfit to wear. It was Princess Leia’s bikini. In the world of “Pic or it didn’t happen,” here is visual proof.

Fourth match: Dax Daring, Steven Kirby & Scott Murdoch vs. Kanoa, Mike Foxx & Kenny Steele

Kanoa & Foxx started before their match with promos. They were going to humiliate the derby girls. The derby girls have become ours now. You don’t mess with them. Kenny took a lot of punishment in this match taking the chops of the night which went to Scott Murdoch. Every time I see Kanoa, I see more and more from him. But the real star of the night was Dax. He had such a great showing. He’s flashy and the crowd was chanting, “Dax is awesome.” During those two matches, Dax went from “Hey, it’s that one guy” to a full-fledged star. Kenny won the match with the Snow Plow.

Winner: Kanoa, Foxx & Steele

Fifth match: Viktor Tadlock vs. Joshua City vs. Danny Saint vs. Carrion Arcane vs. Frankie Fisher vs. Ben Wylde

Last night, I heard one of the competitors refer to this match as a cluster. There were some parts of it that came off as a cluster. But the match itself wasn’t one. Instead of a cluster, I will say “complicated” & “multi-layered.” They did the plancha onto 7 guys with Frankie which looked pretty cool. I hate it when every match has this on the card. But only once per match makes the move seem special, which it did. I see a lot of potential to this Joshua City. He has  a lot of natural charisma and some X-factor stuff you can’t teach. The more I watch Arcane, the more of an unsung hero I see him being. The drama to end the match was great. Saint had Arcane in an arm hold and they milked it.

Winner: Saint

After Saint won, there was a great face-off with Steele. I am now sold on their match. The main event was supposed to be Kristopher Haiden and Matt Palmer in a rematch of the last show where Haiden snuck in to win the title. Haiden walked out wearing his Smackdown suit. Then he announced he had the night off. Instead of the title match we thought we were going to get, we got Matt Palmer vs. Andy Dalton.

Main event: Matt Palmer vs. Andy Dalton

Matt Palmer. Andy Dalton. That is all. You had the two guys deliver an epic match. With one match, Dalton elevated himself in a whole other category. He established himself as an elite heel in this company. This match was filled with near-falls. The story was that Haiden was doing commentary and kept on getting frustrated by Dalton’s inability to beat Palmer. Eventually Haiden went in and interfered.

Winner by dq: Palmer

All in all… A very strong outing from the MPX locker room. Between Dax Daring, Kanoa, Jordynne Grace & Andy Dalton, we are witnessing some very fresh faces doing some great stuff. If you have any of those 4 showing up near you, it is definitely worth watching. It had the right dose of comedy (Kate’s bikini) and drama and intensity. This was a great wrestling product.

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